stageman12
Train Attendant
Our first trip in 18 years on the Builder started amiably enough, leaving out of Milwaukee on Wed Aug 19th. We were booked in room 15 in car 2730, the last car on the train. The Builder arrived nearly on time, and we were escorted to the platform in the middle of construction- they are completely rebuilding the loading zone. As 7/27 pulled up, I was reminded of my first trip in 1997, and the excitement I felt returned.
We were met by our SCA Martinez, a soft-spoken but polite gentleman who escorted us to our family bedroom. This car appeared to be a refurbished sleeper, as the bathrooms lacked the push-button faucets, and the shower had an actual glass door that closed. Martinez made himself available throughout the journey west, and kept a case of bottled water ready at the top of the stairs. He also kept fresh coffee on hand for most of the day.
The room itself was a pleasant surprise. Having only travelled in a roomette previously, we were happy with the larger space. My daughter loved being able to roam the train and having her own bunk, though she wasn't quite ready to sleep in the top bunk yet. We watched as Wisconsin rolled by and crossed the Mississippi into Minnesota.
Dinner the first night was the steak, which was wonderful. We met a fellow named Gil who was also traveling to E Glacier Lodge- we would run into him at the hotel later in our trip.
After dinner, we returned to the car and had Martinez turn down the beds. Our daughter was asleep promptly, tired out from the day.
The morning brought North Dakota into view and French toast for breakfast. Later that day we enjoyed the burgers for lunch. However, we were told there were no desserts offered for lunch other than ice cream. I thought that was strange, but shrugged it off. The day would get much stranger later on...
As we passed across Montana, there was an announcement that the GPK passengers would get the first two dinner seatings as we would detrain first. We got the first seating, which would prove fortunate. No sooner had the reservation been given to us, when the conductor made an announcement beginning with "I have bad news." My heart sank- I had been following the news on the fires near Essex and suspected something was amiss. "We will not be allowed past Shelby, MT. Due to fires near the tracks, U.S. 2 and the tracks have been closed at E Glacier. We do not have further information at this time." My wife and I exchanged nervous looks- it had taken us 18 years to return; would we even make it?
Our dinner time came up, so we headed to the diner. Alan was in charge of the diner, and he seemed very frazzled. Our orders were taken, but the diner was only half full. Alan announced that in order to get the meals served quickly, no desserts would be offered. At this point, the conductor announced that the tour group heading to Glacier had alternative transportation in place, arranged by their tour leader. Everyone in the diner had the same question on their face- what about the rest of us? The meals arrived (had to have that steak again), and we ate apprehensively.
The conductor returned to the dining car with further news- they had arranged for buses for those heading past Spokane. However, 2 problems- they did not have enough buses for everyone, and they would only go as far as Spokane. As our meal finished, we finally got news that busses would take us to E Glacier as well. Not the trip we planned on, but at least we would get there. At this point, nobody else had been seated, and we found out later they had canceled all remaining dinner services with no announcements- SCAs went to get food for their cars.
Once we arrived in Shelby, we were lead to the shuttles. They were quite small, more like airport shuttles than actual busses. Ours had a broken heater under the seat in front of me, so I got to sit in the Mohave Desert all the way to Glacier. At last, we arrived, and I left the desert behind in favor of smoky mountain air. We had made it!
I should note that the process once we were off the Builder was quite smooth and planned. The sense on the train was one of confusion, that nobody really knew what was happening. This only added to the unease of the passengers and probably could have been handled better, though it was a unique situation.
I will post Part 2, where Fran took over the dining car, momentarily.
We were met by our SCA Martinez, a soft-spoken but polite gentleman who escorted us to our family bedroom. This car appeared to be a refurbished sleeper, as the bathrooms lacked the push-button faucets, and the shower had an actual glass door that closed. Martinez made himself available throughout the journey west, and kept a case of bottled water ready at the top of the stairs. He also kept fresh coffee on hand for most of the day.
The room itself was a pleasant surprise. Having only travelled in a roomette previously, we were happy with the larger space. My daughter loved being able to roam the train and having her own bunk, though she wasn't quite ready to sleep in the top bunk yet. We watched as Wisconsin rolled by and crossed the Mississippi into Minnesota.
Dinner the first night was the steak, which was wonderful. We met a fellow named Gil who was also traveling to E Glacier Lodge- we would run into him at the hotel later in our trip.
After dinner, we returned to the car and had Martinez turn down the beds. Our daughter was asleep promptly, tired out from the day.
The morning brought North Dakota into view and French toast for breakfast. Later that day we enjoyed the burgers for lunch. However, we were told there were no desserts offered for lunch other than ice cream. I thought that was strange, but shrugged it off. The day would get much stranger later on...
As we passed across Montana, there was an announcement that the GPK passengers would get the first two dinner seatings as we would detrain first. We got the first seating, which would prove fortunate. No sooner had the reservation been given to us, when the conductor made an announcement beginning with "I have bad news." My heart sank- I had been following the news on the fires near Essex and suspected something was amiss. "We will not be allowed past Shelby, MT. Due to fires near the tracks, U.S. 2 and the tracks have been closed at E Glacier. We do not have further information at this time." My wife and I exchanged nervous looks- it had taken us 18 years to return; would we even make it?
Our dinner time came up, so we headed to the diner. Alan was in charge of the diner, and he seemed very frazzled. Our orders were taken, but the diner was only half full. Alan announced that in order to get the meals served quickly, no desserts would be offered. At this point, the conductor announced that the tour group heading to Glacier had alternative transportation in place, arranged by their tour leader. Everyone in the diner had the same question on their face- what about the rest of us? The meals arrived (had to have that steak again), and we ate apprehensively.
The conductor returned to the dining car with further news- they had arranged for buses for those heading past Spokane. However, 2 problems- they did not have enough buses for everyone, and they would only go as far as Spokane. As our meal finished, we finally got news that busses would take us to E Glacier as well. Not the trip we planned on, but at least we would get there. At this point, nobody else had been seated, and we found out later they had canceled all remaining dinner services with no announcements- SCAs went to get food for their cars.
Once we arrived in Shelby, we were lead to the shuttles. They were quite small, more like airport shuttles than actual busses. Ours had a broken heater under the seat in front of me, so I got to sit in the Mohave Desert all the way to Glacier. At last, we arrived, and I left the desert behind in favor of smoky mountain air. We had made it!
I should note that the process once we were off the Builder was quite smooth and planned. The sense on the train was one of confusion, that nobody really knew what was happening. This only added to the unease of the passengers and probably could have been handled better, though it was a unique situation.
I will post Part 2, where Fran took over the dining car, momentarily.
